Here comes Emperor Tinubu's reign. It seems to me that one of the scariest thing about the neologism of contemporary Nigerian politics is that we are really setting ourselves up for Fascism.
Taking dissents out of our political life, we are pretty much gradually slipping into authoritarianism, hence creating hunger that will drive us to a state that would eventually make us accept fascism because the nice thing about fascists is that they will tell you want to do, how to act, how to vote, what to think, and what is important.
And, this is how they start. More annoying, than ACN not fighting for SW's interest, is Tinubu dictating to ACN 'honorables' what to do.
May God save us in the SW.
Thank you very much WizardofOz
ACN = The Tinubu show.
That would have been ok if Tinubu were God (infallible). HE ISN'T
And Tinubu cannot be said to be working in the best interest of the common man.
The question I always people is this
IS THE ENEMY (Tinubu) OF MY ENEMY (PDP) necessarily my friend or could he also be my enemy??
Because you and I have a common enemy does not make us friends. It may seem that way for a while, but not for long.
egift: Tuesday, 07 June 2011 00:00 Ayegba Israel Ebije, Minna E-mail Print PDF 24Share Niger State Governor Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu yesterday said the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate; retired General Muhamadu Buhari is the conscience of the nation. This is coming barely a week after he said at a gathering in Jos, that the Buhari led CPC would have turned the North upside down if it had won the April election.
Aliyu, who spoke at the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected members of the state House of Assembly in Minna, said he is not only close to General Buhari, but that he also respects him.
“Many people do not know my relationship with General Buhari. He is the moral conscience of this nation and a lover of good things. Many times when I speak, I get misquoted to give the impression that I have something against him, but I have nothing against him. He is a man I respect so much, not because he is a general or a former Head of State. I have a personal relationship with General Mohammadu Buhari, and I admire him as a leader,” he said.
The governor maintained that he would continue to talk as a public servant, calling on members of the House of Assembly to always express themselves.
“Some people want to gag me because according to them, I talk too much, but during the last campaign, I noticed that some people did not know about projects that were executed in their areas by the state government until we told them. I urge you, members of the House of Assembly to always speak about whatever you do for the people because it is your right to do so,” he said.
wales: FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo caused a little surprise on Sunday when he showed up at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Abeokuta, venue of a thanksgiving service for the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
The former President entered the church, located in Ake area of the state capital, while the service was on.
Obasanjo equally held a closed-door meeting with Amosun at the Presidential Hilltop Mansion in Abeokuta after the church service, details of which were not known.
Addressing journalists after the thanksgivings service, the former President said he came to rejoice with the governor as a father of all Nigerians being the former head of state and president of the country.
“Having been Nigeria Head of state and President, all Nigerians are my sons and all Nigerians are my daughters but this Governor (Senator Amosun), by accident of birth, been born where I was born, so in a way, he is my son just like all other Nigerians are my sons,” he said.
Obasanjo advised Amosun to work and pray hard for a successful administration and do the best for the people of the state.
At the service, Amosun, cautioned elders and traditional rulers in the state against abuse of laws.
The governor of St. Peter, said the laws were above everybody, adding that all, whether rich or poor, must obey the law.
He added that his administration would not condone act of illegality from any quarters, assuring the traditional rulers and the state elders of cordial relationship at long as established laws were not infringed upon.
“Let me say that our traditional institutions and elders will be respected very well but, if at any time that respect is mistaken as a ticket to break laws,that would not be tolerated. Any of our elders that break laws would not be spared,” Amosun stated.
The cleric, Rev. Samuel Ogundeji, in his teaching at the service, urged Amosun to give priority to the education and health sectors in the state.
Ogundeji described the sectors as among those in dire need of attention.
“You must be concerned with the health, education, agriculture, roads, power and other sectors that will make people applaud your administration. Remember some people will complain but you must remain focus.
“I challenged you as you have come to give thanks to God today to commit to the Lord all you do and your plans will succeed,” he said.
What happens if the contractor doesn't finish?? What's Gov Fayemi going to do?? Frisk them??
Seriously though. A good portion of this work was done by Ayo Fayose. I don't know why Segun Oni could not be bothered with getting it done.
Till December you say, Mr. Gov?? No wahala. Luckily, your 1 year anniversary will be in November or so. We will mark that month on our calendar and look.
Ileke-IdI: This is what we obviously need, not his free healthcare free education promise that wont be delivered.
Anywayz, I hope this is not another facial surgery.
I'll be counting down. We don hear this one before sha.
@ Ileke Idi:
Nice one there. I didn't know you too were aware that free education and free healthcare promises were all propaganda.
Where is Ekiti going to get money for both of those?? From our massive Internally Generated Revenue??
Gbawe: Man mi, instead of attacking Tinubu automatically why not digest what is written so that we can see you understand the structure of Nigerian politics? Can you tell me what this has to do with GNU ? These are PDP candidates for the speaker of the lower House seeking the electoral support of the 70 ACN legislators through negotiating with the boss of their Party. Perfectly acceptable political practice even if you choose to interprete it it as GNU. Do you not understand that the ACN , via legislative and gubernatorial positions, are part of Nigerian Governance ?
So, any time ACN reps/senators/Governors negotiate with their counterparts from the PDP, as they are legitimately allowed to do, that is GNU to you? GNU is a concept mainly affecting the executive arm of Government where GEJ has the discretion to include other Parties in Government . The Nigerian people chose their own legislators . Those legislators must then vote for their own leaders. There is nothing concerning GNU here and Tinubu has done nothing wrong so please stop trying desperately to give him a bad name to hang him. He did not ask the PDP Speaker candidates to come to him . They are the one seeking his support in hoping he can influence the way ACN reps vote. Abeg criticise fairly and objectively. Stop trying , desperately IMO, to conjure up wrongdoing where there is none.
@Gbawe:
Chairman. There is nothing to digest here. This is PDP doing what they do best - Dividing the nation amidst ethnic and religious lines, and at the same time causing commotion.
For ACN howewer, they said last month that there would be no cooperation with PDP. There would be no courtesy visits.
Don’t cooperate with PDP, ACN warns N’Assembly members-elect By Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja Wednesday, 11 May 2011
The Action Congress of Nigeria on Tuesday read out what could be considered as a code of conduct for its newly elected National Assembly members.
One, they must not cooperate with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in their legislative duties; and two, they are not to accept ministerial or other appointments from the PDP while still card-carrying members of the ACN.
The party told the legislators-elect during their induction ceremony at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja that as opposition lawmakers, they must ensure that their voices “rang out loud” in order to make the difference expected of them.
Although the party admitted that every of its member had a right to accept an offer from any quarter, it vowed not to allow any to use it to achieve personal ambition.
Another condition, which was read out to the 53 new House of Representative members and 18 senators by the ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is that they should not pay courtesy visits.
Mohammed said, “The ACN bans cooperation at any level with any government. It is the right of members to associate and the President can nominate anybody, but the position of the party is that, if any member decides to accept an appointment, such a member must resign and not use the ACN for his or her ambition.
“Nigeria and Nigerians are looking up to our party and the success at the general elections. Nigerians want to see a difference and our members in the National Assembly must draw up an agenda to make the party different.”
Before Mohammed spoke, the ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, had said that the party would not be part of the Government of National Unity proposed by Jonathan.
He added that the GNU, if operational would not only turn the country into a one-party state, would negate all that democracy stands for.
Akande said, “If the PDP appoints you, you are on your own. What we are saying is that don’t use our logo or party to seek appointment. If we want to have one party state, why did we conduct an election?
“If we want to maintain good democracy; we should be able to stay apart as the opposition and the voices of members of the National Assembly must ring a bell.”
A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, also advised the lawmakers to push for fiscal federalism by ensuring that the existing revenue sharing formula was reviewed to favour the states and local governments.
Tinubu said, “In the last 20 years, I have not heard of a review of the revenue formula; we have a lopsided revenue formula.
“A situation where the Federal Government has over 52 per cent of the allocation cannot be accepted; the real people are there in the states and the local government areas.
“In the federal principle, it is the states that cede power and trust to the Federal Government to own certain aspects; and without states there can be no federal government.”
He said the country had not been running a federal system of government but a unitary system, adding that “this has to stop.” “You have to work hard at this when you get there next month. The Federal Government must not take more than 25 per cent,” Tinubu said.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, advised the new lawmakers to work as a team.
“Integrity should be our watchword, we should hit the ground running and work with unity of purpose. With these, our party will meet peoples’ expectations,” Dabiri-Erewa, who is the House Diapora Committee chairman said.
Others at the event included Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and former governors of Anambra and Benue States, Dr. Chris Ngige and Mrs George Akume.
I wonder what bell they are ringing when they start rubber-stamping PDP decisions that are never based on merit.
No worries we'll all know whether there is GNU or not when Tinubu nominates a few members of cabinet.
nurabela: The battle for the speakership of the House of Representatives has shifted to the Asokoro lodges of governors from the Peoples Democratic Party, in Abuja, where they read the Riot Act to lawmakers-elect to respect the party’s decision by electing Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola as speaker on Monday.
This is even as a rash of meetings of Reps zonal caucuses continued on Saturday to finalise strategies on the election of Speaker.
The life of the House under the superintendence of Mr. Dimeji Bankole ended on Saturday.
The contest for the exalted speakership seat has sharply divided the 360-member House, throwing up Adeola, Messrs Aminu Tambuwal and Muraino Ajibola, as aspirants.
The PDP leadership in league with its governors had endorsed Akande-Adeola as the party’s candidate after a meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
But a group of lawmakers led by Tambuwal, who is also aspiring for the most hallowed chair, has remained defiant, and vowed to contest the seat.
It was gathered that the adamant posture of the Tambuwal group, compelled the party to direct its PDP governors to individually reach out to their repsentatives to make them act in accord with the party position.
Consequently, PDP governors still in Abuja met the legislators last Friday to pressurize them to vote for the anointed candidate of the party.
One lawmaker outside the North, told Sunday Punch on Saturday that the governors called them to appeal and in some cases, intimidate, adding however, that they would still go ahead with the “Tambuwal project.”
He said, “The governors called us on Friday to read the Riot Act; but governors were not the ones that elected us. The electorate elected us.
“Our oath of allegiance is to the Constitution and not to any individual, mindful of the fact that the Constitution has no provision for either North or South, but one indivisible country called Nigeria.
“The important thing is that the Speaker of the House does not belong to the PDP alone, but also belongs to other political parties.
“Therefore, no amount of coercion, intimidation or threat will deter us from going ahead with our plan.”
Earlier, the South-West zonal plank of the PDP, led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo had adopted Muraino as its candidate, but the party in Abuja and the legislators spurned the decision.
The caucuses of South-South zone led by Mr. Andrew Uchendu and North-East zone chaired by Mr. Jerry Manwe, on Saturday, issued a statement, backing Mulikat.
Uchendu, from Rivers State told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the South-South lawmakers believed in the supremacy of the party and that whomever the PDP supported would be adopted.
He said, “After we evaluated the candidates for the contest, we found out that Mulikat’s mien, conduct, educational background and humility prepared her well as a possible leader we need to support.
“We also believe in political compromise for the sustainability of our democracy and our country. No zone should be left out in the political equation of the country and for the stability of the country.
“We have told our colleagues that we should not question the PDP platform that brought us to Abuja.”
Also, Manwe stated, “The North-East caucus stands by the party’s decision. We are loyal party members.”
It is believed that Mulikat is pairing with Mr. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State, who until last Friday was the Chairman, House Services Committee.
The House has about 260 new members of the 360-member legislature, and the new lawmakers hold the power loop critical to the emergence of the speaker.
A thrice-elected lawmaker said, “These new members can easily listen to their governors than the ranking members who are supporting Tambuwal.
“If we take cognizance of the fact that the old members are about 100, it will be easy to appreciate that we don’t have what it takes to tilt the balance, only the new lawmakers can.”
Both Mulikat and Tambuwal have met former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu of Action Congress of Nigeria, in a bid to secure the support of the 70-member lawmakers of the party.
The two leading contestants in the race are lawyers, and Mulikat apart from enjoying the party’s support, is also being supported by President Goodluck Jonathan and his wfe, Patience.
Tinubu!!! Tinubu!!! Tinubu!!
The same Tinubu who banned courtesy visits to all PDP governors on local, state or federal government levels is now the one being visited by lawmakers. Na wa o.
I guess we will see on Monday whether or not ACN is fully involved in the "Government of National Unity" or not.
I wonder on what merit these two contestants are being anointed as Speakers of the House.
nuclearboy: ^^ And what is "fresh air" doing as chief security officer of the nation? What does it bode for his anti-corruption stance if a man accused of stealing Billions and now not possessing of any immunity and not deserving of federal security since he has no official post, is being secured by federal agents who were ready to use lethal force on other federal agents just to protect him from being questioned.
Fresh - NOT! More like FETID. Because all the President had to do was order the guards to stand down if he truly wants accountability. But he's obviously decided to be president FOR the vultures against Nigeria, not president of/for Nigeria
Thank you very much Nuclearboy.
It makes we wonder the kind of message GEJ is trying to send. I don't know when EFCC operatives became target practice for Bankole's police security.
I know that. I'm just not sure he is a worthy successor to Buhari's Anti-corruption legacy. There are a lot of mixed feelings about his achievements as FCT Minister. I'm not sure what his stance and antecedents on corruption are.
Buhari not free from execution of Ogoni sons?? Why not follow this link and read the thread about How Goodluck Jonathan nominated Ken Saro-wiwa's Tribunal Judge As Chief Judge of The Federal High Court.
I gbadun your theories and postulations my guy. We should talk.
What do you think are the chances of an El Rufai/ Bakare ticket clinching the presidency from GEJ as compared to a Fashola/ El-Rufai or ticket under CPC.
Can the NE and NW be placated with a muslim/muslim ticket even though the front runner will be Yoruba?? It worked for Abiola though, but that was a different time.
Also, how can one account for spoilers from the north?? People like Shekarau who will run just to split northern votes and for no other reason.
El-Rufai/Fashola presidency would have solved the issue of the NE and NW. Problem is most people don't see El-Rufai as having achieved enough for Fashola to play second fiddle to him. This combo would surely secure NE, NW, and SW as long as no spoilers like Shekarau arise to split the votes.
It is at times like this that I really miss RIBADU.
Selective Justice or not. . . a good number of thieves still got arrested. Unlike GEJ's tenure now, where everyone is free to do as they please with no repercussions.
Someone remind me. Who was that unfortunate Governor/ Official that had the pillars to his house gate cut through by Ribadu's EFCC and his living room stormed to effect his arrest??
I never read of anyone declining an EFCC invitation when Ribadu was EFCC chair.
Katsumoto: In every developed democratic society, one can usually find far right, right, centre, left, and far left parties. Now these parties have different ideologies in different countries because it is the issues that the country in question is facing that determines the ideological lines that are drawn. For instance the Conservative parties in the UK and Canada are not as far right as the Republican party in the US. The Far right party in France, the National Front, was second in the last presidential election in France while the Far right party in England is not taken seriously. Ideological lines in Western countries are usually drawn along religious, welfarist, immigration, education, etc lines
But not all those issues are paramount in Nigeria or most parts of Africa. Nigerians face issues of corruption, mis-management, nepotism, underdevelopment, infant mortality, etc These are the issues that determine what ideological stances parties will take. I am not an ACN party member and Fashola is the only example of ACN leadership in Nigeria and it is his leadership style that one can use to conclude what kind of ideology he and the ACN in general have. Similarly, one can use the PDP leadership style to conclude what kind of ideology the PDP holds. I will use PDP leadership in the SW and contrast with Fashola's leadership.
It is clear by comparing and contrasting Fashola's style with OGD/Akala/Oyinlola/Fayose/Oni that Fashola (ACN) is a progressive (perhaps one can term that centrist or leftist) while PDP is a rightist party on the basis that its leaders do not care about the welfare of those they seek to govern. They (PDP) are only interested in enriching themselves and their cronies and godfathers. The manifesto of ACN is unlikely to declare categorically that is a leftist or centrist party but its in the policies that it pursues that will lead one to what kind of party it is. As Nigeria progresses and develops, ideologies will also develop and parties will evolve. Afterall, when the US democracy started, there were no clear ideologies. The common objective of all Americans was to kick out the British.
It may surprise you that from the declaration of Independence in 1776, the US only developed the two party system in 1864. George Washinton was a President without a party, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party. That party held power until 1828 (like the PDP) when the Democratic-Republican party split and Andrew Jackson became the first Democratic party president. The Republicans (under Lincoln) were Northern and anti-slavery while the Democrats were Southern and their party was formed in 1856.
The point I am making is that, no new democracy is able to get established structures from the word Go. It comes with time. You may be right that ACN may end up like PDP but its still too early to reach that conclusion.
@ Katsumoto: So. . . If I attempt to summarize what you meant here, Will it be right for me to say that
You are telling us that not everything that factor that applies to Politics and Democracy in the UK and US should be replicated in our system here in Nigeria??
mikeansy: Exactly1!!! ordinary internal party democracy, they have not even acted differently. Can a nobody not connected to Tinubu campaign to represent the ACN in ithe west and hope to win? They have not even managed to select their candidates in an open, fair and transprent party primary and yet they want to make noise about being holier than thou.
A successful ACN is in the interest of Nigeria but nobody should expect to be held to a different set of standards merely because their party does not occupy Aso Rock.
Regarding the bolded, you are quite right. Senator Festus Olabode Ola is proof of that. He has now taken ACN to court to regain his seat as Ekiti Central Senator. Primaries did not take place simply because he was not one of the so-called "Tinubu boys".
ACN for the most part a party for people who are willing to yield to the will of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Look at what they did to Mamora, Sosan, and so many others.
Luckily, now that ACN has more responsibility by means of their recent victories, their demystification is at hand.
Was it not the ACN House of Rep minority leader that was saying some weeks ago that Legislator jumbo pay was needed and justified.
@ Mikeansy and Emeka_gh : Don't worry yourselves. All we have to do here is the same thing we are doing for Jonathan - SIDDON LOOK.
But honestly, if we think about this issue carefully, we will all have to admit that the OP is on to something here. These individuals will definitely have a huge stake in the privatization of PHCN and other power-related sectors.
I won't be surprised if they pull strings in government to undervalue some of PHCN's assets. It happed with Ajaokuta steel company. Thank God another administration reversed that decision.
@Gbawe: Please surrender this conversation to the emeka_gh and mikeansy. The truth is that ACN has revealed itself to be a party of flip-floppers.
Kindly note that when Jide Awe (ACN Ekiti Chairman) came out to say ACN was willing to work with PDP for a better Nigeria, the party leaders came out in full force to shout him down. That article is quoted earlier on in this thread. A few days later, They said the following
ACN warns elected members to shun unity government
By Taiye Agbaje
May 11, 2011 11:06AM
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday warned all its National Assembly members-elect to steer clear of political appointments from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led federal government, saying “whoever accepts such offer is on his own”.
The National Chairman of the party, Bisi Akande, who dropped the hint at an interactive session with the new members-elect in Abuja, said a unity government is of no use because the nation is not faced with problem of external threat.
“GNU is done, even abroad; but only when there is a problem of external threat;” he said. “But when the country is at peace, vibrant opposition allows for improved democratic process. And if we want to have a government of one party, why do we contest elections in the first instance? Therefore, don’t use our logo or position to accept any offer. If you do that, you are on your own. However, if you want to go on chop chop, you are not representing us.”
No need for unity government
Speaking on the topic, “The Position of ACN as Distinct from Party in Power,” the national spokesperson of the party, Lai Mohammed, also noted that a unity government weakens a democracy. He said since his party campaigned based on its manifesto, there was the need to focus on its agenda.
“GNU started in 1979 when NPN and NPP came together, but we knew how it ended. Similar attempt was made in 2007 and all the parties in agreement, like PPA and ANPP, paid for it. ANPP started with five governors and ended with two, while PPA started with two and ended in zero,” he said.
“Therefore, our position is clear. We have banned courtesy visit to any government that is not a member of ACN whether at local, state or federal level. A person appointed by another party must first resign his membership from ACN. You must know that all Nigerians are looking forward to ACN and our success is not for the party alone but for Nigerians.” While urging the newly elected lawmakers to draw agenda for the party to differentiate it from party in power, Mr Mohammed suggested that public account committee at both houses must be left to members of the opposition party in order to put a proper check on the executive.
The National Secretary of the party, Lawal Shuaibu, said legislature is the power house of democracy and that members should not allow themselves to be bought over.
An outgoing senator, Olorunnibe Mamora, urged the newly elected members to create time to study the legislative rules. “You cannot be a good parliamentarian without the mastery of the rules, because it helps you to navigate legislation easily. Read and study it. And do know that the powers of legislators are so enormous and without proper application, you cannot get good governance. Also avoid high rate of truancy and absenteeism,” he said.
Be prepared
Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State, who assured the lawmakers of support, advised them to imbibe the culture of regular and full attendance of parliamentarian proceedings.
“You need to be computer literate if you have not because through Google for instance, you can get lots of information. I use it very well in my research and this will arm you to be able to speak confidently as a prepared mind,” he said.
Leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, charged the ACN lawmakers to ensure that fiscal and true federalism is practised in Nigeria.
“We have not been running federal system but unitary system and this has to be stopped,” he said. “Obasanjo was the worse abuser of this and it is only you, the legislators, who can effect a change on this issue. A situation where the federal government is dictating to the states when it does not hire their employee for them is abnormal. And our party’s position on Senate presidency and Speaker must be made known.” At the end of the session, the party’s chairman, Bisi Akande, announced the dates for a retreat for all the elected members of ACN.
“Elected governors will assemble in Benin City on 19 May for their retreat, State Assembly members in Lagos on 24 and 25 while National Assembly members will assemble in Osogbo on 24 and 25 for their retreat,” he said.
If the same leaders who came out to say this three weeks ago are now running to Aso Rock to meet Jonathan, then I wonder what that spells.
Therefore, our position is clear. We have banned courtesy visit to any government that is not a member of ACN whether at local, state or federal level.
I won't even talk about the nonsense they were saying some months ago about the difference between internal democracy within a party and external democracy between all parties. What a load of bullcrap.
Tinubu is going there to benefit his pocket and not the common Nigerian. Just like Mikeansy said, ACN is thriving on the name and hard work of Babatunde Raji Fashola. None of the other ACN governors have half of what he has to offer. That's just my opinion. However, only time will make all of this clear.
Pornodude: Nonsense! What r they protesting about? Some of those students use blackberry and iphones which cost about almost the price of the school fees so wtf? Most people dont value education these day so i believe when they pay a high price for their education, they will value it.
@ Pornodude:
Don't forget the N80,000 Brazilian weave. That is a winner nowadays.
More and More delay tactics by the GEJ Administration.
They told us some months ago that the new tariffs will be announced by June. Now they announce that the tariff will take effect in Jan 2012 without telling us what the tariff is. I doubt the tariff will cause any significant change in the electricity situation.
To those like Pennywise that say Nigerians do not want to pay for electricity or do not pay their bills, kindly note that what you said is highly unfair to the average Nigerian struggling to make ends meet. Your statement is based on the false assumption that the bills PHCN bring to residences are representative of the electricity consumed by the users. It is common knowledge that PHCN concocts bills depending on several factors including the appearance of the building, and the supposed status of the inhabitants.
I completely agree with andyanders that before they can ask anyone to pay for electricity, they should give them access to the prepaid meters. This eliminates the issue of PHCN making up fake bills. But it is a slight on the current administration that they have seen no reason to punish the current bosses of PHCN for trying to deprive Nigerians of this right. In fact, it should be mandated that from now on, PHCN should desist from using the analog meters and proceed to only use the prepaid ones.
On another note, all of this is nonsense, unless constitutional amendments are made to allow states and regions supply themselves with power, all this tariff nonsense will not have any effect. The tariff is important, but it does not change the fact that it is not feasible for any independent power project to inject wattage into the "National" grid.
If not for indiscipline and corruption, there would have been no need to privatize our Power Holding Company. It is not always the best for a country to privatize all its institutions. While some may cite the privatization of the Telecommunications sector, we surely do not want to go as far as privatization of our health system so it becomes like America where profit matters most to the Insurance companies and Hospital Managers.
I don't know how much was really found in Bankole's account. All I know is anyone that says it is probably N1 billion does not understand how much money the Leadership of the House of Rep comes into contact with.
Bankole has spent 4 years there. His allowances alone every year will be about N1 billion. That is the legal stuff. Now, let's not forget the illegal stuff from government, the hidden stuff from oil companies and other lobbyists.
N155 billion naira might be too much to put into a single account. It would however be an insult to Bankole's thieving skills to have only N1 billion in the said account managed by a front.
There is no reason why Bankole could not have stolen as much at N8 billion to N15 billion for every year he was the Speaker. The minimum I would expect from a blatant thief like him would be N5 billion a year. That would be the absolute MINIMUM.
The newspaper title even attempted to make this man sound like a human. He on the other hand was not so interested in doing that.
Newspaper -
Jonathan in his remarks noted that a four-year tenure was too short for a President and governors to make significant impact . . .
Jonathan -
“I will not talk about the tenure of the Government, the constitution has said four years, though some believe that four years is too short to make[b] any change,[/b] which I also believe. . .
Focus on those words - Too short to make "any change". He says he also believes it is too short. How Dare he say something like this? Could he tell his family that his Manliness is "too short" to poke his wife and give here belle?
Now consider this quote from a wise man - "Before you can do something, you have to first believe it can be done."
If really he said this, then GEJ IS A FOOL & A CRETIN!!!
When we were talking last week of reducing the number of Ministries, he did not remember we had a constitutional problem. Since we have been shouting that the way electricity has to be distributed throughout the National grid makes it so difficult to achieve our quest for 24/7 electricity, he did not remember we had a constitutional problem.
It is now that he is supposed to work that he remembers that we have a constitutional problem. I suppose the 1 year he spent as president was not enough for him to stabilize. He is handing over to none other than himself, isn't he??
We need to know if what we got as a gift has now been put into the books as a purchase. It sure would make an excellent opportunity for someone to siphon some money out of the Nation's accounts.
I saw this interesting music video on youtube and it got me thinking.
The message is about how what we need is ONE MAN - One man with foresight. One man who is ready to fight for what is right. One man who is ready to dream.
My question now is - Does anyone really believe GEJ is such a man??
Kindly listen to the song and tell me what you think. I guess it may not matter much now that the elections are over. Nonetheless, it is a question that demands an answer.
alj_harem: Barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan returned the budget to them for reduction the National Assembly yesterday approved a harmonized estimate of N4.484 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year.
The lawmakers also okayed the proposed N1.5billion for ex-Biafran leader, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu and other Biafran soldiers who were pardoned by the federal government.
There was another N27 billion for rehabilitation of the ex-militants in the Niger Delta.
President Goodluck Jonathan had requested the National Assembly to cut down the budget from the N4.9 trillion passed by the parliament to N4.407 trillion.
With the passage of the N4.484 trillion budget, the Senate has added N77billion to the budget for the 2011 fiscal year.
But the Senate President David Mark in a remark yesterday however asked the executive arm of government to ensure full implementation of the 2011 budget. Mark had earlier warned that the National Assembly would not accept any excuses from the executive for non performance.
He said: "I will like to thank you for this expeditious amendment, and I will also urge the executive to ensure the budget passed by the National Assembly."
Of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, the total sum of N4,484,736,648,992 trillion Out of this, N417,824,288,743, is for statutory transfers; N495,096, 682,115 only is for debt service; N2,425,065,124,967, is for recurrent (non debt) expenditure while the balance of N1,146,750,553,167 is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December 2011.
The lawmakers also increased the bench mark for the fiscal estimate from $64 per barrel of crude oil to $75 at a projected 2.3 million crude oil production per day by the federal government.
Exchange rate was fixed at N150 to $1 while the joint venture production was put at $5.4billion.
Out of the N2.425 trillion recurrent budget Defence has the highest allocation of N309, 783 billion followed by Education, N304, 670 billion. The Police got N296, 569 billion; Health, N202, 458 billion and Ministry of Interior received N135, 182 billion. A total of N154.746 billion is approved for pensions and gratuity.
1. Kindly note that capital expenditure is exactly 25% of the entire budget.
2. The Police are getting almost $2 billion. This makes me wonder why they are still out on the street shooting innocent civilians over N100.
3. It is easy to see all the major avenues that our politicians are using to "chop" in this budget.
Defence is a good avenue for example. These people will buy no new equipment and will still not pay soldier's salaries and pensions on time, yet the money will disappear.
Police - One of the best opportunities for the Inspector General and Minister of Police Affairs to chop all they want.
Education - How many new schools or universities will the government actually work on improving. Chunks of this money will disappear into the Minister and his cronies' pockets.
MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THIS COUNTRY.
This budget is a reflection of Goodluck Jonathan's plans for this country - Business as usual
To all those dullards that were expecting new airports, railways, power stations, and such "luxuries", I wish to ask how much of these the $7 billion capital expenditure will provide, especially when you take the fact that implementation is typically less than 50% due to corruption and misappropriation.
Each time something like this happens, I sit back and chuckle to myself.
It is quite sad, but it is not unexpected.
There is enough blame to go around in this case. The actions of the soldiers was excessive though.
The truth of the matter though is that the Police carry most of the blame for this. It is with the same impunity with which the kill and maim innocent citizens that they attack and harass people they don't know. This is not the first time and will certainly not be the last.
The NPF are a bunch of trigger happy fools. In this case, they just bit off more than they could chew. The hands of the soldiers were forced in this issue. You do not expect to shoot one of their own in broad daylight and not expect a reaction.
The NPF deserved some of what they got in return. You cannot continually maim and kill innocent citizens for no reason without expecting to eventually step on the wrong toes. The Bible summarizes what happened here quite well in Galatians 6:7 and Hosea 8:7
Galatians 6:7 - BE NOT DECEIVED. GOD IS NOT MOCKED. WHATEVER A MAN SOWS THAT ALSO SHALL HE REAP.
Hosea 8:7 - They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
These policemen sowed the wind, and now they have reaped the WHIRLWIND.
NO need for me to deceive you. Ekiti has hotels, petrol stations and banks. That's all.FINISH. NO more.
Ask how much of the tax makes it into the books, and the LG officials will turn and walk away. Don't let people deceive you with fake statistics. Ekiti IGR is essentially zero.
Politics › Re: Why ACN Supported Tambuwal - Tinubu by jensinmi(m): 8:54pm On Jun 07, 2011
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